I have always been really interested in this event and thought it would be a lot of fun. Oh how wrong I was and I doubt I will ever do this again. It was too damn hot. Heat indexes were up over 110 for a large chunk of the day and it's really a miracle that I didn't hurt myself. I ended up going through 3 gallons of water, almost a gallon of Gatorade, a gallon of sweet tea, and 32 oz of pickle juice. After all of that I still came home 5lbs lighter (and that is after I ate a hamburger and fries at 11:30pm).
1. Rowlett Creek (North side) - we got started at RCP at about 5:20am. It was humid but the sun wasn't up yet so we (my brother and I) had our lights on and were excited about the day. Just over 5 miles of fast/flowy single track.
(5.14 total miles/ 33:36 ride time)
2. Sister Grove - we hit the trail at 6:49am. The sun was coming up and we still felt good and were making good time without pushing too hard. We were trying to pace ourselves for a long day. Sister Grove has a little climbing but isn't too challenging. I had a minor wipe out here but not damage done to me or the bike.
(11.88 total miles/ 1:26:20 ride time)
3. Erwin Park - 8:24am. At this point, it's starting to dawn on us how long the day is going to be. Erwin is a fast trail with some good climbs. It's starting to get hot but the popsicle offered by the trail crew was the best popsicle EVER!
(20 total miles/ 2:27:12 ride time)
4. Isle Du Bois SP - 10:41am. This is the trail that we were dreading. IDB is ridiculously rocky with loose rocky climbing. We only had to ride the A, B, and C loops but that was enough. It was starting to get really hot, the heat index was already up around 110. The trail beat us up and we were really glad to be done with it.
(24.19 total miles/ 3:13:35 ride time)
5. Johnson Branch SP - 12:31pm. At this point, your going to notice a theme. It was fucking hot!!! JB is off Lake Ray Roberts on the other side of the lake from IDB so it's similar but not as much of a beating. However, when we roll up the trail steward warns up about the biting flies on the trail. GREAT! We also spotting the first casualty of the heat. We helped another rider that was having some serious heat issues. I only got bit by 5 or 6 flies. My bibs were starting to rub me the wrong way so I put on a fresh pair but unfortunately the damage was done.
(30.18 total miles/ 4:13:52 ride time)
6. Knob Hills - 2:43pm. So HOT! This trail is fast but a little rough in spots. There are some short off camber climbs and bench cuts and a lot of really short steep climbs. It's a lot of fun when you haven't already ridden 5 other trails. The trail steward warned us it would be hot but we weren't expecting what we rode into. A large portion of the outgoing trail is bordered by these 8-10 ft tall "weeds" and when your ride into them it's like riding into a furnace. It was oppressive. You just have to keep moving or I'm pretty sure you would just dry up and die. I got my first taste of some heat exhaustion out there and almost threw up twice. I was starting to cramp up.
(37.43 total miles/ 5:08:30 ride time)
7. Northshore - 4:49pm. This trail has been on my radar all day long. I kept telling myself if you can get past Northshore you are home free. I knew it was going to be bad when I couldn't even get out of my truck without my hamstrings cramping up and fuck I barely got my socks and shoes on. This was tough. I hit a real low point here. I was struggling to eat anything since the last trail and food or water was making me sick. I kept the fluids going to but I couldn't get any food in me. Northshore is fast and flowy but I wasn't moving fast at all. I was creeping a long just trying to survive. Every climb was torture, my HR would sky rocket with any exertion and my bibs felt like they were made of sandpaper. It sucked and I was starting to cramp up.
(45.15 total miles/ 6:22:20 ride time)
8. LB Houston - 7:03pm. It was still hot but the sun was starting to go down so at least we weren't in the direct sun anymore. My legs cramped for about 5 minutes when I got out of my truck but calmed down with some walking and cursing. LBH has ZERO climbing. It's a really fast trail but it wasn't in great shape. The trail stewart warned us not to go out without eye protecting saying "There are a lot of face slappers." It was worse than that, there was debris everywhere. I was convinced I was going to lose a tire out there. I was still struggling with hydration and fueling and almost threw up again. But when were got done the trail steward was making burgers and dogs for everyone at the trailhead. I doubted I could eat it but I never pass up a burger. I was able to eat it and it made me feel SO MUCH BETTER. So for future events like this, I am just going to fuel with hamburgers.
(50.99 total miles/ 7:06:14 ride time)
* We ended up with a mile less distance that other riders even though our GPS track was identical.
9. Harry Moss - 8:43pm. Cramped again when I got out of my truck but yet again some walking and cursing seemed to help. We had our lights back on and ready to get this done. I had never been to this trail before but at this point I just wanted to be done. There were some short punchy climbs that you hard to get a good run at but no real climbing here. The miles seemed to tick off so slowly and all I could focus on was the copous amounts of skin that my bibs were rubbing off my nether regions. At least it was finally starting to cool off a little.
(55.42 total miles / 7:46:58 ride time)
10. Rowlett Creek (South side) - 10:11pm. I was SO ready to be done. I knew I was going to cramp as soon as I got out of the truck so I was sitting there preparing myself when I fucking cramped up. This sucked so bad, my hamstings, hips, calves, lower back, and lower abs all cramped at the same time. I couldn't get out of my truck to move or stretch. I finally threw the door open and fell out of my truck. Under other circumstances my brother would have laughed his ass off but he was having his own issues. I finally got myself under control and we set out of finish this shit off. We know RCP really well so we were able to knock it out without any issues except for a suicidal armadillo that wanted to take me out at the end of the trail. I'm pretty sure if he had knocked me over I would still be lying there. It was so nice to roll back up to the trailhead and check in with the organizer. We were DONE!
(59.16 total miles / 8:14:47 ride time)
* This was suppose to be 60 but we lost that damn mile at LBH.
So it was all done and I headed home. Of course, I had to stop to get a #RecoveryBurger. Since it was 11:30pm at night my options were limited so Whataburger was my destination. And yet again, I fucking cramped up when I got out of my truck. I'm sure I looked like a crazy person flailing around and cussing in the parking lot but I was going to get my damn hamburger.
I was so exhausted when I climbed into bed at 12:30am but for some reason I was wide away at 3:45am. I laid there for a while staring at the ceiling and then decided to get up and write my recap. So please excuse and grammar issues.
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